MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 848 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.11% of Applied Industrial Technologies worth $9,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Applied Industrial Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies in the second quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Industrial Technologies by 106.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Applied Industrial Technologies by 68.1% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AIT shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America upgraded Applied Industrial Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Applied Industrial Technologies from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from $260.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Applied Industrial Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.57.

Applied Industrial Technologies Stock Performance

Applied Industrial Technologies stock opened at $273.90 on Friday. Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.47 and a fifty-two week high of $282.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $242.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 3.78.

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE:AIT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.11. Applied Industrial Technologies had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Industrial Technologies’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. will post 9.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Industrial Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Applied Industrial Technologies’s payout ratio is 15.10%.

Applied Industrial Technologies Profile

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc distributes industrial motion, power, control, and automation technology solutions in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. It operates in two segments, Service Center Based Distribution, and Engineered Solutions. The company distributes bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control solutions, advanced automation products, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, automation solutions, tools, safety products, oilfield supplies, and other industrial and maintenance supplies; and motors, belting, drives, couplings, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic components, filtration supplies, valves, fittings, process instrumentation, actuators, and hoses, filtration supplies, as well as other related supplies for general operational needs of customers' machinery and equipment.